Keiko Tsukada

Music 250

April 28, 1997

Richard Freedman

The Musical Unity in O primavera and Occhi un tempo mia vita

The two madrigals, O primavera and Occhi un tempo mia vita, have many common elements in their poems and music. In both madrigals, the poems are set by Guarini, and the music is composed by Monteverdi. Also, they both appear in the Book III of Monteverdi's madrigal works. According to Tomlinson, both pieces are "in sheer variety of musical devices (80)." However, the most important element in the two madrigals is the way of unifying the variety of ideas in the poem by the music.

First of all, there are two different ideas in both poems. The poem of O primavera is about the happiness for the arrival of spring in the present time but, unexpected sadness because of the memory of losing the past hopeful days with love. The poem of Occhi un tempo mia vita is about the memory of eyes of a woman who turns away from him and refuses to love him anymore. Two different time setting create a kind of variety in the poems.

Moreover, Monteverdi creates the musical variety for each verse of the poems. In both pieces, he puts different melodies for each verse, even though the poem are about the same subject. For example, in Occhi un tempo mia vita, the first two verses of the poem are about the memory of the eyes of a woman; "Occhi un tempo mia vita (Eye that were once my life,); Occhi, di questo cor fido sosteno (eyes once the bulwark of this faithful heart)." However, the melodies which Monteverdi puts onto those verses are quite different. The melody for the first verse is a slow descending line, when the one for the second verse is a fast ascending and then descending line.

For example, in O primavera, every verse has its own melody except the fifth verse and the sixth verse. Since the poetic meaning of the fifth verse continues to the middle of the sixth verse, the melody also continues. However, other than this part, each verse has its own melody, and the distinction of each melody is very clear. The first verse of the piece is in a relatively fast descending melody when the second verse is in a slower ascending melody. The rhythm of the third verse is almost as fast as the first verse, but since its melody ascends in the later half, it is distinctive from the first verse. Interestingly enough, the fast and the slow rhythm alternate for each verse of the poem in this piece.

In Occhi un tempo mia vita, the fast and the slow rhythms of the melody also distinguish each verse of the poem. However, the alternation of the fast and the slow rhythm is not strictly done when I compare one in O primavera. For example, both the third and the first half of the forth verse stay in the slow rhythm. However, the rhythm of the melody still creates a different kind of variety to the poem.

Guarini includes variety of ideas, the present and the memories, in both O primavera and Occhi un tempo mia vita. Then, Monteverdi uses different melodies to convey those ideas in the poem. So, how are those different ideas on the different melodies unified as a piece of music? I found that the musical structure unifies them as one piece of music. Moreover, the ways of using the music structure in both pieces are very similar.

First of all, Monteverdi separates both pieces in several sections according to the major differences in the poetic meanings. For example, O primavera is separated into three major sections; I- verses 1-3, II- verses 4-61/2, III- verses 61/2-9. Every ending of the sections can be heard clearly by the cadence. In the poem, the first section is about the arrival of the spring. Then, the second section is the turning point of the idea to the third section. In the third section, the poem expresses the idea that "I am different from the last spring."

Similarly, Occhi un tempo mia vita is separated into five sections. The first section (verses 1-2) is about the memory of the eyes. The second section (verse 3) is the question toward the woman with eyes, and the third section (verse 4) is the question toward himself. Then, in the fourth section (verse 5), the question returns to her again. In the last section (verses 6-7), he express his long lasting love for her.

Monteverdi's way of unifying the verses with the variety of melodies within the section is by underlying with a common line. According to Tomlinson, Monteverdi uses the common bass line to "link one idea, already presented, with a new and different one (81)." However, I believe that it is not necessary be the bass line to unify the ideas.

Tomlinson points out the section which is from the measure 1 to the measure 8 in Occhi un tempo mia vita, to show how Monteverdi links two verses about the eyes. In these measures, the upper voices parts present two different verses from the poem, while the lower two parts repeat the first verse. First the bass sings the first verse with the three upper voice parts. Then, the upper voice parts move to the second verse, when the tenor still sings the first verse in the fifth above the bass part. Therefore, Tomlinson describes this section as linking the different ideas by the common bass lines.

However, in case of O primavera, it is not necessary the bass line unifying the ideas. In the first section of this piece (verses 1-3), the idea of each verse is linked by many different voice parts. For example, the first verse of the poem is introduced by the tenor. Then, it is linked to the quinto and the alto, while the canto introduces the second and the third verses of the poem. The combination of the second and the third verses is linked back by the tenor and the alto, until the first verse of the poem is re-introduced by the quinto. During this section, individual verses have their own melodies, and the same melodies carry on when they linked by a different voice parts.

Moreover, the similar way of unifying ideas within the section can be found from the measure 28 to the measure 41 of O primavera. In this case, the lower three voice parts first introduce the idea of the verse 4 then, this idea with the same melody is carried on by the upper three voice parts in the manner of cannon. While the verse 4 is sung by the three upper voice parts, the combination of the verse 5 and the verse 6 are introduced by the lower two voice parts. Then, while this combination of the verse 5 and the verse 6 are carried on by the canto, the verse 4 will returns in the four lower voice parts. Therefore, the variety of ideas within the section is unified by common musical lines, but I believe this common line is not necessary be the bass line.

However, the sectional unification would not be enough to create one unified madrigal. I found that Monteverdi's ways of unifying O primavera and Occhi un tempo mia vita as one piece are similar in a way. In both pieces, he uses the descending melody in the beginning, in the middle, and at the end. The use of the descending melody creates a parallel structure in the music to hold it as a one whole piece. However, the rhythms and harmonies of the descending melodies vary depending on the texts.

In O primavera, there are three parts of the music which use the descending melodies. The first part is the melody for the first verse, "O primavera, gioventu dell'anno (Oh springtime, youth of the year)." The second part is the melody for the fourth verse, "tu ben, lasso, ritorni (well may you return but)." Then, the last part is the melody for the last verse, "si car'a gl'occhi altrui (so dear to the eyes of another)." However, even though those three parts are in the same descending manner, because of the differences in the texts, the melodies are not the same.

In the first descending melody, the rhythm is relatively fast and most of the harmonies are in consonance. That is because this part of the poem is about being happy for the arrival of the spring. However, the second descending melody is in very slow rhythm. Also, many harmonies are in dissonance (4th and 7th) by using the sustaining notes. This is because, the text starts to express the other side of the effect of the arrival of the spring, bringing back the sad memory. The last descending melody is also slow and has many dissonant harmonies because of the sustaining notes. That is because, the text expresses that "I am no longer a happy man like I used be in the last spring, because I am not in love with the woman."

Similar to O primavera, there are three descending melodies in Occhi un tempo mia vita. They are also in the beginning, in the middle, and at the end to help unifying the music. The first part is the melody for he first verse, "Occhi un tempo mia vita, (Eyes that once my life)." The second part is the melody for the fourth verse, "Tempo è ben di morire, (The time has come to die)." Then, the last part is the melody for the sixth verse, "Forse per non mirar come v'adoro? (Is it to prevent your seeing how much I love you?)" Similar to O primavera, the manners of the descending melodies change according to the texts.

The first descending melody has slow rhythm because the text is about the memory of eyes which no longer a part of his life. The second descending melody is also in the slow rhythm because the text is about the death. The harmonies of both melodies, which I hoping to find in dissonance, are in consonance. However, many of those harmonies are in minor 3rd to express the sorrow. The last descending melody is in the fast rhythm, and the harmonies are in consonance with many major 3rd. That is because, the text still express his love to her.

In O primavera and Occhi un tempo mia vita, Monteverdi uses the variety of melodies to express Guarini's poem. Since almost all verses of the poem have their own individual melodies, it is hard to hear the musical unity of the pieces. However, Monteverdi unites the section of the music by the underlying link of the melodies, and he unites the pieces as a whole by the parallel structure of the descending melodies.